Mike Shown took a hobby and a career and mixed them together into his own company — Flatland Racing.
The business at 628 Graham St. specializes in making guards for dirt bikes. The guards protect various vital components on the motorcycles from damage during races and riding. Shown said he started the business in 1992. About a year and a half ago he moved the business, which employs three workers full-time and four part-time, to the current location. The previous building was 1,200 square feet and the new building is 4,800.
“It made a huge difference on how we run the business,” he said. “It’s much safer.”
Shown has been riding dirt bikes since he was 9 years old, he said. He grew up around dirt bikes. When he got older, he continued to ride dirt bikes and worked at Didde for 25 years. When he decided it was time to move on he started his own business and merged his two loves — machine shop and dirt bikes.
The business started out small. He started out making and selling them to friends, then on the back of a truck at races, and people started asking him if they could carry the parts. Flatland Racing was born.
Flatland Racing does business all over the United States and the world, including places like South Africa and Japan. The parts the company makes appeal to the serious racer and also the casual rider of dirt bikes. The company sells parts on the Internet, through word of mouth, magazine ads and dirt bike chatrooms.
“There’s a series of dealers that carry our products all over the county and all over the world,” Shown added.
However, the company isn’t immune to the problems of the economy.
“It’s a little slow this year because of the economy,” Shown said. “We’re doing about 1/3 of what we usually do.”
The slower business has resulted in some cut hours, Shown added.
“This is definitely a luxury sport,” he said.
Shown’s shop is divided into sections: the machine shop, the welding area and the sheet-metal section. It keeps things divided and safer, he said. Near the welding area, Shown has several dirt bikes that he is using for product development and project testing.
“I do product development as new bikes become available,” he said.
He also has a chance to keep up with the latest trends such as dual-sport bikes. Dual sport bikes can be ridden to work and off road.
“That’s a very good trend,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do is follow trends in the industry.”
One unique aspect of the company is that all parts are aluminum, which is a very hard metal to weld, Shown said.
“There’s a fine line between getting it too hot or it being too cold,” he added.
Shown finds his job very rewarding.
“I feel lucky that I could take a profession that I like to do, machine shop and motorcycle, and mix them together,” he said. “It’s very rewarding to be looked upon by your peers for the work you do. Plus, I get to ride all the latest and newest stuff.”